beekeeper

American  

[bee-kee-per] / ˈbiˌki pər /

noun

1. a person who raises honeybees; apiculturist.

---

beekeeper British  

/ ˈbiːˌkiːpə /

noun

1. a person who keeps bees for their honey; apiarist

---

Other Word Forms

• beekeeping noun

Etymology

Origin of beekeeper

First recorded in 1810–20; bee ¹ + keeper

Explanation

A beekeeper is someone who manages bee hives and extracts honey. If you see a person wearing a white jumpsuit and a hat with a veil — and they're covered in buzzing insects — it's probably a beekeeper. If you want to get really fancy, you can call a beekeeper an apiarist. Beekeepers manage apiaries, or networks of honey bee hives. They care for the hives, making sure they are an ideal environment for the bees to live and make honey. It's also the beekeeper's job to carefully extract honeycomb without harming the bees. Many people keep bees as a hobby, yielding just a little bit of honey each year.

Example Sentences

Mr Williamson, a County Armagh beekeeper, said this behaviour typically takes place from mid to late summer and can prevent bees from foraging, causing them to starve.

From BBC • Oct. 18, 2025

"There's not enough help," said Bartolo Quirino, a 42-year-old beekeeper.

From Barron's • Oct. 15, 2025

The locals say Agnes is the “child of a forest witch” and she is indeed extraordinary: an able herbalist, beekeeper and falconer.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 2, 2025

Instead, he said that the unusual incident may have been due to the bee colony becoming too large for its beehive and becoming "overactive" when the beekeeper handled it.

From BBC • Jul. 8, 2025

Along the walls were topsy-turvy shelves of cookbooks and books about the history of baking and how to be a beekeeper.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova